While in a rural area just outside of San Diego, 16-year-old Vera Oliphant was searching for reception when she blundered into a rattlesnake nest and was bitten six times.

"I was trying to find a signal to call my mom and text my boyfriend," she said. "I didn't see [the rattlesnakes] until I already stepped on their nest and I felt them biting me."

As the snakes' powerful venom took hold, Oliphant's vision began to blur and she started to lose consciousness. Somehow, she made it back to her uncle's home and he immediately transported her to the emergency room, where they administered 24 vials of anti-venom.

Fortunately, Oliphant survived and she's since returned to classes at Chaparral High School in El Cajon. She's also learned that cell phones and snakes just aren't a good match, she says.

"If you're in the desert, for one, wear boots, and two, don't bring your cell phone or go searching for reception because you probably won't find it anyways and you might step into a pit of rattlesnakes," she said.